MIAMI, Florida -- A Catholic school has fired a popular teacher after she returned from her same-sex marriage, saying she violated a contract she signed agreeing to obey church rules.

Carlota E. Morales, the principal at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, sent a letter home to parents saying the firing of first-grade teacher Jocelyn Morffi was a "difficult and necessary decision," ABC 10 reports.

The Miami Herald reports upset parents went to the school on Friday to confront the principal over the firing.

"We were extremely livid. They treated her like a criminal, they didn't even let her get her things out of her classroom," Cintia Cini, parent of one of the children in Morffi's class, tells the Herald.

Cini and other parents told reporters they were not concerned about Morffi's sexual orientation.

"Our only concern was the way she was with our children, the way she taught our children and this woman by far was one of the best teachers out there," Cini said.

The Associated Press reports Florida does not have a statewide law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. A Miami-Dade County ordinance that protects LGBT residents from discrimination exempts religious institutions from certain provisions.

While a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami confirmed Morffi had been fired, she would not offer specifics, saying only that Morffi had violated her contract with the school, the Herald reports.

"As a teacher in a Catholic school their responsibility is partly for the spiritual growth of the children," Agosta tells the Herald. "One has to understand that in any corporation, institution or organization there are policies and procedures and teachings and traditions that are adhered to. If something along the way does not continue to stay within that contract, then we have no other choice."

ABC 10 reports Morffi might not have been fired if she had not posted pictures of her wedding on social media.

"This weekend, I married the love of my life and, unfortunately, I was terminated from my job as a result," Morffi said in a Facebook post on Friday. "In their eyes, I'm not the right kind of Catholic for my choice of partner."

Morffi had worked for the school for nearly seven years.

"You know, to be a Catholic, you're taught to be forgiving," Cini tells ABC 10. "But if you're gay, forget about it. But love is love."